08/10/2012

Olympic dream reached, Aubry looks beyond basketball

After ten years on the national team, Chelsea Aubry is considering retirement. Record file photo

LONDON — Towering a foot over her classmates at Kitchener’s Stanley Park Public School, it seemed Chelsea Aubry was destined to play basketball.

Recruited by a coach in Grade 7, she set aside soccer and dance, started shooting hoops and never looked back. Now, at 28, Aubry may finally be able to let go of the sport she loves so much.

Aubry, a pillar of the national women’s team for more than a decade, is pondering hanging up her jersey after a long career in the game. She’s thought about retiring before — but the prospect of getting to the Olympics has kept her around.

Finally, she’s achieved her Olympic dream. With Canada’s first-ever appearance in an Olympic quarterfinals at the London 2012 Games behind her, she says she’s “the luckiest girl in the world.”

Aubry is about to take a long and well-deserved break, and then she’ll make a decision about whether to keep playing. She’s not under contract for the upcoming season with her Australian professional team, the Bendigo Spirit, and plans to take some time to figure out what she wants to do.

“I have to think about it, take a couple months and re-assess,” she said. “There’s no guarantee what I’m going to do. I’m going on vacation, I know that, and then we’ll see what the future holds.”

But she’s already reflecting on what 10 years playing for Team Canada has meant to her. The team’s 91-48 loss to the U.S. on Tuesday was her 150th game with the senior national women’s team.

Basketball has taken her around the world — from a standout high school player at Grand River Collegiate, to four years as the first Canadian on the Nebraska Cornhuskers, to playing professionally in Slovakia and Australia — but playing for Canada has meant something bigger than that.

“To be able to wear the Canadian jersey for all these years has been unreal,” she said.

“I think one of the hardest things is going to be having to take it off. I’ve been so fortunate to be able to represent Canada for so many years and to represent Canada in the Olympics.”

Retiring now will be a lot easier for Aubry. The No. 11-ranked national team appears to have developed into an international contender, earning respect among basketball’s heavyweights after years as a pushover in major tournaments.

The six-foot-two forward has had a key role in that development, taking younger players like Guelph’s 19-year-old Natalie Achonwa under her wing. She’s been a leader and part of the “glue” that held the team together, her coach said.

There have been plenty of bumps along the way. Four years ago, when the team failed to qualify for the 2008 Olympics, Aubry thought her dream of reaching the Games would never be fulfilled.

She thought about quitting. But her teammates and coach were like family to her, and together, they wanted to give it one more try.

“When the team didn’t qualify for Beijing, she was devastated, thinking her dream was shattered,” said her mother, Shelley Aubry.

“But she rallied quickly, more determined than ever to get to London. It’s been a ride for sure and we are just so proud of the strength of character we have seen from Chelsea to get her to the pinnacle of her career.”

Aubry’s parents came to London, knowing it was probably their last chance to watch their daughter play for Canada. They followed the team to Turkey in June, too, when Canada was trying to qualify for these Games.

“When they sealed the deal in the game against Japan (and qualified for the Olympics), it was emotionally overwhelming, a tsunami wave that hit us unexpectedly,” Shelley Aubry said. “It has been a wonderful journey.”

Aubry, Kim Smith and Teresa Gabriele are the only three women on the national team who have played at two world championships and now an Olympics.

“They’ve left such a legacy, those players,” said the team’s head coach, Allison McNeill.

“Maybe they’re not going into the hall of fame, maybe they’re not Sylvia Sweeney, who was MVP of the worlds, maybe they’re not Bev Smith, but they’re something. They’ve brought it together and led the team. Our older players have unbelievable character.”

After the team’s last game together at these Olympics, the players lingered on the court, sharing long hugs and a few tears. For veterans like Aubry, they knew it was probably the last time they’d play together.

“My teammates have been the reason I keep coming back every year,” Aubry said. “I love the game of basketball, but I love the people that are involved in this program more.”

McNeill joked after the game she wanted to adopt Aubry, worried she’d miss having the easy-going athlete around.

Aubry, meanwhile, will spend the last few days of the Olympics enjoying herself. She’s waited a long time for these Games — and she’s finally able, now, to think beyond them toward that next big step in her career.

Countdown to the 2012 London Olympics

Follow this blog to keep on top of Waterloo Region and Guelph's elite athletes competing for the chance to represent Canada at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Reporter Greg Mercer will bring you in-depth profiles on this special group, plus updates on their training and qualifying events.
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